At the request of civic groups and academics, the Control Yuan will launch an investigation into whether National Police Agency (NPA) and National Security Bureau (NSB) heads broke the law during the visit of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) and his delegation earlier this month.
Twenty-five civic groups and 218 academics filed a petition with the Control Yuan yesterday, calling for an investigation into the actions of NPA Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞), NSB Director Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明) and National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起).
The petitioners accused the NPA and NSB of violating civil liberties when executing “Operation Concord” to protect Chen and his delegation during their Nov. 3 to Nov. 7 visit.
PHOTO: LU CHUN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Chen arrived in Taiwan to sign four agreements with Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) aimed at enhancing cross-strait ties.
“In executing ‘Operation Concord,’ [the NSB and the NPA] violated people’s freedom of movement and the right to be at public places, taking excessive measures such as closing off the airport, public roads, sidewalks and hotels, all in the name of ‘protecting Chen’s personal safety,’” the petition said.
“In our constitutional history, the government has never closed off public spaces on such a large scale or so seriously restricted freedom of movement. The aforementioned agencies have obviously violated several laws,” it said.
The petition also cited various incidents of abuse that allegedly occurred during Chen’s stay.
In several cases, individuals wearing T-shirts calling Taiwan a sovereign country, holding the Republic of China or Tibetan flags, or shouting pro-independence slogans were forcibly removed by police and prohibited from walking past buildings in which Chen was at the time.
In other cases, a woman was taken to a police station for videotaping Chen’s convoy leaving a hotel, while several anti-China demonstrators who protested peacefully were beaten by police and severely injured.
“There should already be some mechanism in our government system — for example, prosecutors — to assess such abuses of power, but nothing has been done so far,” Yen Chueh-an (顏厥安), a National Taiwan University law professor, told a press conference outside the Control Yuan before submitting the petition.
“Sadly, nothing has happened and we suspect that something went wrong in our government system. That’s why we are taking this [petition] to the Control Yuan,” Yen said.
“We brought proof of the NPA and the NSB’s wrongdoing, including videos recorded by the media and individuals on the scene, pictures, injury reports and police reports,” said Chiu Hei-yuan (瞿海源), a sociology research fellow at Academia Sinica.
Control Yuan member Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) accepted the petition and said he would investigate.
“I will ask the concerned parties to explain what happened and summon them to appear in person if necessary,” Huang said. “If everything goes well, the investigation should be completed in three months.”
According to the Constitution, Wang, Tsai and Su could face impeachment if the Control Yuan finds them guilty.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS